Cherry Creek News
& C
entral
D
enver
April 18, 2009Page 13
Before I get too deeply into this arti-cle, I would like to pay homage to thesmall business owner. Not everyone can be a trained chef. Noteveryone can afford tohire decorators or haveartist friends to pro-vide hot, trendy ambi-ance. Not everyone hasa marketing plan andcash to hire a firm toget their website upand running. And yet they are every-where, these small entrepreneurs whowant nothing more than to make anhonest dollar from an honest day’s work by providing hearty food at a reasonableprice. To these brave souls I say hurrah,and to those of you still reading, I saywhat are you waiting for? Support yourlocal small restaurateur!To get the ball rolling, I am going torecommend one excellent choice, LargeMarge’s Philly Cheesesteaks. Locatedin an amazingly inconspicuous shop-ping complex with poor signage, I’msurprised anyone would ever see thisplace if they didn’t already know it wasthere, and yet it seems to have been therefor a while.At first blush you might questionyour decision to visit Large Marge’s. Thecenter is pretty depressing in its ambigu-ity. Inside you will find aluminum gar-den furniture covered with vinyl tablecloths, a counter with poor signage anda really short, not too creative menu. Oh,oh. I was beginning to worry about mychoice to ask my 80+ year old parents to join me. Surely this wasn’t going to be avery impressive display of my culinaryadventures, was it?Still, we soldiered on to the counterand made our selections. I chose theregular Philly, dad went for the PizzaPhilly (same as mine, but with marinarasauce), and mom went the healthy routewith a Vegetarian Philly, made with adiced veggie burger, bell peppers, onion,mushrooms and cheese. Any of thesein a combo meal with fries and a drink will run you $6.50 - $8.50, depending onadd-ons.While we waited for our order, wesoaked in the ambiance of the plainwhite walls covered with a hodgepodgeof photos and posters. While the arrange-ment is pretty random, we were quick to notice that all of the images reflected back on Philly in the form of landmarks,sports figures, maps, and favorite sons. Itwas pretty charming, actually, to see thatthis was more a reflection of the ownerand what she loves, not just somethingto look pretty.The food arrivedsimply presented, butin ample quantities.My Philly was verytraditional, made withshaved ribeye and anice balance of onionsserved on a bed of vel-vety cheese sauce. It was very good,although after tasting the others I think my personal preference goes to the PizzaPhilly.Here is the best part about eating atLarge Marge’s: while we were eating,Marge herself came out to chat. Shedidn’t know we were there as “secretshoppers” and she had never met us before, but she sat at the next table andstruck up the most pleasant conversa-tion about Philly. She pointed to themap, showing us where she grew up,and when prompted, told us about herlife in the Coast Guard. She talked abouther travels and how she ended up inColorado. Three years ago, she said,she decided that the west side of townneeded a good cheesesteak, and thusLarge Marge’s was born.Mom asked about the electronic key- board under the TV, and Marge said it’salways been her ambition to get a groupof friends together for a band. “We justneed to learn about twenty good sing-along tunes, that’s all. I figure that bythe time we get to twenty, everyone willhave forgotten and we can start over atnumber one again!”As we drove home, mom, dad andI talked about our impressions. Momwould like to go again because she likedMarge. I’d like to go and try a differentsandwich. The one thing we all agreedupon is that, given how friendly Margeand her counter staff are, it would onlytake three or four visits before they wouldremember you, ask your name, and startconsidering you a “regular.” They madeus feel like friends and neighbors, not just another set of random customers.This is the part of Large Marge’s thatI want to preserve. As a business owner,Marge cares about her customers. Shewants to know who you are and she likesto share that part of herself that makesher unique. Isn’t this a trend worth nur-turing? I think so.***
Dining Detective:Large Marge's - a nodto the independentrestaurateur
LargeMarge's PhillyCheesesteak
3890 Kipling StUnit J
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